Postcards from Italy
by ZiraUzu
Summary: All hopeless romantics lead to Italy.../LuNa/ Full summary inside.
1. An Opportunity Presents Itself

**Title:** Postcards from Italy

**Genre: **Romance

**Character Focus:** Nami

**Couple: **LuNa (Luffy X Nami)

**Side Couples:** Nojiko X Ace, One sided Vivi X Ace and SaVi (Sanji X Vivi)

**Rating: **T

**Warnings: **OOC

**Inspiration: ** N/A

**POV: **Nami

**World: **AU

**Summary:** _All hopeless romantics lead to Italy..._When the opportunity to visit Italy presents itself; Nami is quick to board a plane in order to pursue her dream of drawing maps of the world. While in the beautiful country of romance she meets Luffy, an aspiring young writer in search of turning his life around. As romance blossoms between the two and her time in Italy grows short Nami finds herself stuck between a rock and a hard place, between returning to America to continue map making or staying in Italy with a man she barely knows, but has come to love. /LuNa/

**Postcards from Italy: Chapter 1**

_An Opportunity Presents Itself_

When I took this job, I didn't think there would be any hard decisions to make. I thought everything was going to be easy, simple. I would have memories that I could stick in a scrapbook and forget. Then, when I opened the book once again they would come flooding back to me, as if it was only yesterday. Pictures that would capture each individual moment, the little things, and they would cause me to cry when I remembered them. I wasn't supposed to make memories that I never wanted to forget. I wasn't supposed to choose.

Having two loves is never easy, eventually one must be forgotten in order to make room for the other. One must be left behind in order to find a balance. Yet how was I supposed to live without both of them? How was I supposed to choose?

But eventually everybody has to make a choice, no matter how heartbreaking it may be.

xXx

"Nami I want you to go to Venice, Italy and map out the city. We haven't had anybody out there in a few years and I'm sure the layout has changed considerably since the last time we mapped the area."

I blinked. Once. Twice. Seriously?

"You're kidding."

Mr. Garp glanced at me over the top of his paperwork. His expression was calculating, yet amused as he observed my shock. I was positive my mouth had opened and closed like a fish out of water, not to mention the saucer eyes. Pure Kodak moment. Nice Nami, real nice.

"Why so shocked, child?" Mr. Garp's eyes crinkled at the edges as he smiled and placed his paperwork off to the side. "It it truly such a preposterous idea that I would send you to Italy?"

Honestly? No, it wasn't. I had been working under Garp for a number of years and had grown close to him during that time. I considered him a grandfather, for he had always been a kind old man, and though stern at times, I found working under him to be quite pleasurable. A vast improvement compared to my last boss.

"N-no, it's just so sudden. I wasn't expecting it."

A quite chuckle vibrated from Mr. Garp's throat as he grabbed a cigar from his desk drawer and lit it with the lighter he pulled from his coat pocket. "Your work is brilliant, Nami. I couldn't choose anyone more suited for the job than yourself. You don't give yourself enough credit."

"But sir-"

"I've seen your best and worst, child. And your worst," he gave an encouraging wink, "is the best of a number of my other employees."

"Thank you, sir."

A smoke ring appeared above our heads as Mr. Garp blew a breath threw his nose."Now child, you best be off. You're flight leaves first thing tomorrow."

I stood from my chair with wobbly knees, my exit oozing with the grace of a rusted robot. I'd never been more excited.

xXx

"You son of a bitch!"

I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at Vivi like a five year old, which ultimately earned me a pillow to the face. Normally getting a pillow thrown at me would have sparked irritation but I was too excited and instead a fit of giggles left my throat as I watched Vivi's jaw draw to the floor.

"Italy? Seriously? You're leaving me for Italy?!" Another laugh left my lips as I threw the pillow back at my best friend, who caught it effortlessly and squished it to her chest. Vivi let out a frustrated squeal. "My best friend is dumping me for an old, stuffy country! How will I survive? Who's going to share cheesecake with me every Sunday? Who's going to make me get up in the morning for work on time? Who's going to make sure I don't date scumbags?!"

"You know I don't do half of those things to begin with." I quipped as I shoved a number of different blouses into my suitcase. Behind me, I heard Vivi gasp with mock horror.

"But what if you did?! Who would save me from making bad choices? That's right, nobody! I would be as lost and confused as a child, a child that some creep would take advantage of with candy. Candy that you know I wouldn't turn down!"

"Oh come on, dearie, you know me better than that," Vivi glared at me from over the top of my pillow, one of her eyebrows raised as she waited for me to finish. "I'd let you take the candy."

"Son of a bitch!"

Damn I was going to miss her.

A silence fell over the room as I finished shoving the last of my belongings into my suitcase. Vivi huffed from behind her pillow, twirling a stray lock of blue hair around her fingers. She wore the look she always got when she was thinking about something important, a look where her eyes squinted to almost slits and her bottom lip jutted out so it looked like she was pouting. And perhaps this time she was doing just that.

I pained me to leave her, it really did. She was my best friend and had been there for everything, through the bad breakups, my mother's horrid death, my first tattoo, Nojiko's surprise engagement and then wedding. I honestly couldn't remember a time she wasn't at my side.

A loud thump echoed through the room, causing me to jump with surprise. Vivi had formed her small hand into a fist and had slammed it into the top of the bedside table that was beside her. Must have hurt too because she instantly clutched said appendage to her chest. She nursed her bruised hand for a moment before she turned her gaze back to me, after deeming her hand alright, and said, "I'm going with you."

I actually dropped my hairdryer.

"Are you serious?!" I bellowed, slightly irritated with her last minute plans. "How on earth are you going to manage that? Where will you stay? Do you have a passport?" I knew she didn't. "And how will you come up with the money on such short notice?"

There were a number of reasons I could have listed on why she shouldn't go, which was longer than the reasons why she should, but this was Vivi, once she made up her mind there was no changing it. We were alike in that way. Our stubbornness often caused us clash over the years, this incident just one of the many examples, but it's also one of the reasons our friendship has lasted as long as it has. Both of us were too stubborn to let the other go.

Vivi only smiled, watching me flail around in a panic had always amused her, before she crawled over to me so she could flick me on the forehead (which usually hurt might I add) before she laughed until she was crying. At the time I didn't know what she found so amusing, but it wasn't important.

"You amuse me, Nami, you really do." She said once she had recovered, "I've made up my mind though and you know very well that there's no changing it. I have a passport, idiot. I got one when my father decided to travel overseas for a family vacation last year, and as for the money, I've been saving up for something as exciting as this."

I sighed; there really was no point in arguing with this devil of a woman. "Where will you stay?"

"You're staying with Nojiko and that yummy Italian husband of hers, aren't you? I'll just stay there with you. Free rent and all."

I cringed. If I had to describe my brother-in-law in any way it diffidently wasn't yummy, obnoxious and crazy, not to mention fire prone, suited him much better. However, as stupid as I knew he could be he couldn't have been a complete lunatic if Nojiko fell in love with him. She had always been sensible about one thing: men.

The relationship my sister had with her husband was, in a word, fascinating to me. The origins of how they met are still mostly a mystery to me; the only thing I knew for sure was that she met him while studying a summer abroad in Paris. Imagine my surprise when she came home not just with a strange man, but had announced he was her _fiancée _not two seconds after she had walked in the door.I was pretty irate to say the least. Our mother, Bellemere, nearly had a heart attack and kicked her out of the house for two months. Needless to say she came around after that and eventually let Nojiko return to the house after a very lengthy explanation and interrogation of the husband to be. Sometimes I think being in the marines for twenty plus years went to our mother's head.

"Please," I groaned, "Never call him yummy again. I think I'll retch if you do."

Vivi exploded into a fit of giggled, "Oh but he isss!" She was practically wailing, "If Nojiko hadn't snatched him I certainly would have. I can feel my insides turn to goo every time he's within a twenty foot radius of me." Her lip turned down into a pout before she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. A nervous habit of hers.

"Please don't molest him in his sleep. I'd rather not have that conversation in the morning. Or in nine months."

Vive arched a perfect brow at me, "Tempting. But I'll behave."

"You better get packing then," The zipper on my suitcase slid shut, "We leave at five."

"In the morning?! Son of a bitch!"

I could only chuckle.

xXx

Worst. Flight. Ever.

After the first several hours of snoring and baby barf I'm quite surprised my seat mates didn't lose their heads. Honestly my ears were still ringing and there was enough spit up in my hair to fill a small tub. Okay that last part was a bit of an exaggeration.

Pulling the nest that was my hair up into a messy bun in an attempt to hide its un-cleanliness, I quickly forgot about my sorry appearance as Vivi appeared beside me, both of our bags in tow.

"I'm going to ignore the part where you look like shit and skip straight to the part about how Italian airport security guards are hot, especially when they pat you down, but they are hella dumb when it comes to English."

"I'm going to ignore that first part. For obvious reasons."

She snickered, "Okay that first part was made up. Seriously though, hella dumb."

"Do I want to know?" Vivi handed me carry on as a shouldered my purse, pulling it over my torso so it was nice and secure.

"Probably not. Let's just say it involves an old Italian lady, a similar looking bag, and a bit of a scuffle." She nudged me with her shoulder to lead the way, which I gladly did. I was so done with airports. "Nothing I couldn't handle."

"Of course not." I quipped before pulling out my phone. Nojiko had called me, and so had Mr. Garp. My sister's message was short and quick, letting me know that she would be a few minutes late and where to meet her. Perfect. Garp's was an update reminder. Mandatory attention, obviously.

He picked up on the first ring. Mandatory indeed.

"Nami, darling. How's it going? Smoothly I hope."

"It's going." Vivi pressed her cheek against mine, forever curious. "Besides my annoying best friend," I jabbed her with my elbow. She yelped and stuck her tongue out at me. "And the mountain of baby spit in my hair I'd say it's a start."

"Splendid. However, I want you to remember this isn't a vacation, Nami. There are to be no distractions on this trip. You are there for a job. Understood?"

"Perfectly."

"Good. I'll be in touch." Dial tone.

"Persnickety old man," Vivi grumbled.

"Oh hush. Common, Nojiko's waiting for us by the east entrance."

xXx

_Coming Soon: Chapter 2: Vineyards and Yummy Italian Husbands_

xXx

**Whooo chapter number 1 completed! Chapter 2 is on the way! Kinda. Anybody else notice my attention span can only be on one story for so long? Yes I'm a story hopper. I have multiples.**

**Honestly I have no control. Nami is probably waaaay OOC and I know for a fact that Vivi is. I made her that way on purpose. It almost seems to me like Nami and Vivi's personalities are flipped in this story. Hopefully they'll go back to normal as it progresses though. My mind just kinda wonders when I write, it spews what it wants.**

**Same old, same old. My editing sucks and I apologize for my mistakes.**

**Read, review,**

**Love always dearies,**

**ZiraUzu**


	2. Vineyards and Yummy Italian Husbands

A/N: Warning: There is Italian dialogue within this chapter. I have placed tiny numbers after these that will correspond with an English translation at the bottom of the chapter. Also, I do not speak Italian. My experience with the language is limited to the Assassin's Creed Ezio Trilogy so I used Google translate, which I understand may not be 100% accurate. I apologize in advance if there is anything incorrect involving this.

Warnings: _Language. _

One Piece © Eiichiro Oda

**Postcards from Italy: Chapter 2**

_Vineyards and Yummy Italian Husbands_

At first glance Nojiko hadn't changed. I smiled to myself as Vivi and I approached my sister, who was currently yapping away on her phone in Italian. I could see she had finally developed some type of fluency in the language. When she had first moved to Italy after her wedding she would call me in the middle of the night to complain about how she 'couldn't understand what the fuck everybody was saying.' Seems she no longer had that problem.

I didn't speak much Italian myself, so I could only pick up bits and pieces of her one sided conversation. She sounded calm but I could pick up the edge of irritation in her voice. She was annoyed but her eyes lit up with excitment when she saw me.

"Sì, sì, ho capito. Tutto sarà pronto quindi per favore, Genzo, districare le mutandine e lasciare tutto per me-oh mia cara sorella è arrivato! Oh silenzio, addio, Genzo! Nami dear!"₁ Nojiko squeeled and practically tackled me and Vivi to the ground. My sister, energetic as usual, bounced on the balls of her feet as she snatched our lugage from us and began to wheel it over to a car that was purring idly on the curb.

Nojiko really hadn't changed in the two years since I last saw her. Her blue curls, dyed by choice and to our dearly departed mother's displeasure, were pulled into a messy bun at the top of her head, a few strands hanging loose down her slender neck. Her attire, however, was slightly more conservative from the last time I saw her. Nojiko had always had a fondness for mid drifts and plunging necklines yet she wore neither today, instead she had opted for a simple canary yellow dress that hugged her waist and fell to her knees. It looked a little snug but if she wasn't complaining then I wasn't going to judge her fashion choices.

Vivi squealed in absolute joy, practically clawing to get into the car when she saw the Italian wine nestled in the back seat. Nojiko chuckled and ushered me in behind her before climbing in herself and giving the driver instructions in perfect Italian.

xXx

In all my years, and all the places I've visited, I've never seen a home as beautiful as Nojiko's. The house (though it was more of a mansion) sat atop a grassy hill that overlooked the vineyard, which spread around the hill and to the back of the property. The bottom of the house was layered in dark stone and morphed into a golden brick that made up the outside foundation of the house. Dark stained shutters lined the windows and each had a flower box beneath it, containing a variety of bright colored flowers. The rest of the house was constructed from gray stones, which according to Nojiko, made the house quite drafty in the winter.

Nojiko was absolutely ecstatic and quickly ushered us from the cab, forcing us to leave our bags at the front door so she could take us on a tour of the vineyard. Ace came from a background of wine brewing and though I knew very little about the family that ran the business I knew enough about the company itself. My sister's husband had taken over the company in his early twenties and ever since it had thrived and was now the number one brewery in Italy. They specialized in white wine, providing it for many of the citizens of the Veneto area while also sending shipment each month to the farthest corners of Italy. At the moment they were planning on expanding their services to other parts of Europe though global was still a ways off considering the company's small size.

Nojiko led us the a stable behind the house, chattering away about the ideas Ace and she had come up with for the company. The nickering of horses filled my ears as we neared it and I felt a smile stretch across my face.

"I thought it would be nice to take the tour on horseback," Nojiko giggled as she pushed the stable door open and then proceeded to enter the nearest stall. "These beauties don't get out enough anyways."

The horse nuzzled its nose into Nojiko's palm before nipping at her hair in a playful, loving manner. Joyously my sister led us through the vineyard, pointing out unique landmarks to the family estate and telling us the history of the land. Nojiko had always been fascinated by history and living in an old mansion with a winery made her absolutely giddy. Founded in 1534 the Portgas winery and mansion had stood through centuries of Ace's ancestors. Hailing from his mother's side of the family it stood on the land they had obtained during the beginning of the renaissance in the 1400s. Ace had told her once that there were tombs of his ancestors under the manor and said the house was haunted. Nojiko had smacked him good the next morning when she hadn't gotten any sleep, though she still continued to look for an entrance to the tombs the same morning.

The sun was low in the sky by the time we returned to the house. My sister, Vivi, and I left the horses to the stable boys, who guided them back to their stalls where they would be brushed down and fed a hearty meal. Nojiko babied her horses terribly and I was surprised they weren't all fat and unfit to ride. Lots of exercise, Nojiko claimed despite her saying earlier that they didn't get out much. I rolled my eyes.

As we entered the house Vivi threw a number of questions about the latest Milan fashion to the wind, Nojiko nodding at her questions and answering them the best she could. Vivi was one of the biggest fashion gurus I've met, hailing from New York City she thrived on the newest fashion trends, especially those of a forein nature.

Their pleasant chatting was silenced by the sound of tumbling furniture and smashed glass.

Nojiko came to a halt on the doorstep. Her dark eyes were wide as she cocked her head to the side, listening for any continuation of disturbing sounds, only to stiffen when they continued a moment later.

" Quel maledetto idiota, non posso crederci! Belle. Belle. Manderò per lui. Dieci minuti. Buona giornata."₂

Nojiko raised a hand, silently telling Vivi and I to stay put for the moment before she hurried down the hall towards a room that stood with the door slightly ajar, where the sound of smashing glass resonated. "Ace, cara?"₃

"Ho avuto fino a qui, Nojiko, ho avuto! Perché non ha semplicemente. . . dannazione."₄

"Lo so, cara, lo so. Basta dargli il tempo, lasciarlo respirare. Che sarà lui a venire intorno, vedrai. Adesso vieni. Nami è appena arrivato e hai già fatto una scenata."₅

It was quiet in the room beyond for a moment and then Nojiko appeared in the doorway, and a handsome young man appeared beside her a moment later. His raven hair was slicked back and when he smiled at her the corners of his eyes crinkled as she patted down the front of his suit, clearing away invisible dust.

"Ah Nami," He greeted when they had neared us before pulling me into a hug, "My dear sorellina, how are you?"₆

"Jet-lagged." I muttered, which caused him to chuckle before he ruffled my hair and pulled me back into another hug. Ace had always found my sarcasm to be quite amusing, which is probably a contributing factor as to why we got along so well. I had a bit of a history of clashing with my sister's boyfriends in the past. Ace, however, had looked past my rude comments and inappropriate hand gestures, something that none of the others had done. He put effort into knowing me almost as well as he knew Nojiko. And I admired him for it.

"Sharpe-tongued as ever I see. It's nice to see you as well," He leaned into Nojiko as she moved to stand beside him again, wrapping an arm around his waist, "I must apologize, Nami, you've only just got here and I already must leave to deal with a—certain problem I have acquired." He turned his gaze back to my sister and quickly kissed her forehead. "I'll see you at dinner."

Ace moved with a grace that any woman would kill for, hell I wanted to kill him. My mind was quickly turned elsewhere though when Nojiko trapped my forehead and grabbed my luggage to hand to a nearby butler. "You've always been so spacey. Come you two, I'll show you to your rooms."

"Alright!" Vivi squealed as she practically hauled her suitcase at a nearby maid, almost sending the poor woman to the ground. A look of bewilderment crossed her face and it didn't surprise me, I'm sure she wasn't expecting to have a fifty pound suitcase chucked at her so early in the morning. Nojiko chuckled and then led us up the spiral stair case where Ace had disappeared just moments before.

Vivi began chatting my sister's ear off the second we hit the second floor, asking all sorts of questions, and some even being borderline too personal. That had never stopped my best friend though; she was nothing if not nosy.

"So, Nojiko," Vivi sighed as we neared the end of the hallway, "What was with that pause Ace made when we were talking earlier? It's obvious he was going to say something else. Care to share?"

Oh no. Instantly I could tell that Vivi was treading in dark waters. Nojiko paused in her trek down the hall and though there was no visible sighs of discomfort in her body language I could sense it coming off her in waves. I shot a warning glance at Vivi, who didn't take the hint. She pressed for an answer, unable as ever to relent when she was curious enough.

Finally Nojiko sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat, which finally caused Vivi to shut up.

"Nojiko?"

My sister didn't look at us as she continued walking for a moment before opening a large door and ushering us both inside. Once the heavy oak was sealed behind Vivi and I she turned to face us head on, there was sadness reflected in her dark eyes.

"I may as well tell you, you'll be hearing about it soon enough. Come. Sit." Vivi and I moved towards the king-sized bed that sat to our right and plopped ourselves down, moving about in the covers until each of us was comfortable. Nojiko waited quietly and then moved to sit on the edge of the bed. There were a number of things I was expecting her to say but what came out of her mouth was not one of them.

"Ace has a little brother."

What? To say I was dumbfounded was an understatement. Nojiko had always told me everything, from when we were very small until the present, but she had never mentioned this, had never even hinted at the fact that Ace had any living family outside of herself. It was a little unsettling.

"Is he as yummy as your husband?"

"Vivi what the hell!"

"What? I'm curious," I shot a worried glance at Nojiko, which quickly faded to relief when she smiled and stifled a giggle.

"He is quite handsome, yes." Nojiko said. Then her dark eyes flickered to me and I knew that she could see the disbelief on my face and the betrayal. "I couldn't tell you." My sister glanced down towards her lap for a moment, folding her hands there before returning her gaze to me, "When Ace asked me to marry him he said we would work through the ups and the downs together, and he told me that our love was strong enough to handle anything and it was, it still is. That night when we were packing to go back to America he got a strange call, but when I asked him about it he refused to say anything on the matter. It wasn't until we returned to Italy, two weeks later, that he told me about his brother.

I was as shocked as you. Ace didn't talk about his family much, his father came up in conversation once or twice and even a grandfather that had adopted him at a young age, but he never mentioned a brother. So imagine my surprise, when a strange teenager shows up on our doorstep, soaked to the bone with a bleeding arm and a busted lip.

Ha I was so angry with him, so incredibly angry. I had returned to our room, frightened and angry and curious about the strange boy that my fiancé had rushed from my sight so quickly that I barely could place a face on him. When Ace came to bed an hour later I unloaded on him, demanding to know who the stranger was. It was his little brother. Luffy.

He's a good kid, so incredibly bright, and passionate about the things and people he loves. I adore him and love him so much. But, he's made some mistakes in the past, horrible mistakes that I'm not at liberty to share with you. Earlier, when we first arrived Ace was on the phone with the local police department. Luffy was arrested and Ace went to go retrieve him."

The room was silent, not even Vivi spoke, instead her mouth was closed in a tight line as she glanced towards to open balcony door. Nojiko watched us, waiting for a response that I so desperately wanted to give her, though forming words had become quite difficult.

"Is he . . . safe to be around?"

My sister turned to Vivi, who still had her back turned but was listening. "Yes," Nojiko whispered, "He's a really gentle person, just misunderstood and perhaps a little misguided but he'd never hurt a soul. Please, Nami, Vivi, I know this is a lot to take in but he's Ace's brother, give him a chance."

I was skeptical. This Luffy was a stranger, somebody that I had never met with a criminal record and despite my sister's words that he was gentle, could turn out to be the exact opposite, but this was also Nojiko. And if I held anybody's word honorable or important it was Nojiko's.

"Okay," I whispered, "I'll try to befriend him. I suppose." Or not, but she needn't know that. Instantly Nojiko threw herself at me, her small body shaking as she tried to hold back her happy tears. I smoothed her curls down her head and smiled into her hair. Excellent character had always been one of the things Nojiko could sense in a person, but even she could make a mistake from time to time. I will observe him and judge for myself if he was truly a good person, I would be civil and give this Luffy a chance. For the time being.

Suddenly the sound of male voices drifted through the door from down the hall. My sister jumped to her feet, instantly happy knowing that her husband was home and before I could blink she was out the door and down the hall so that she could meet him. Vivi and I followed close behind at the pace of snails. Jetlag.

Peaking around the corner, we spotted three figures standing by the main entryway, one notably being Noijiko and the other Ace, though the third I had never seen. This was the mysterious brother; this was the dark criminal that had invaded my sister's life and now my own. His back faced us and slowly we inched our way along the copper railing, leaning from side to side to try to get a better view.

Okay so either this guy was psychic or really good at noticing when he was being watched. He turned towards the staircase and then looked upwards. I heard Vivi's sharp intake of breath.

He was dressed in a dark suit, very similar to his brother's, that hugged his body in all the right places. Even though he stood a good distance below us I could see the fabric of the jacket straining against his arms, meaning this guy was built and he was built nicely. His messy raven locks looked as if he had just crawled out of bed but it was a look that worked for him; it screamed come hither and any woman would be mad not to obey. Dark, obsidian eyes stared, holding my gaze for longer than I would have expected a stranger to do. Then he smiled, causing his perfect lips to pull back over equally perfect teeth.

Then suddenly he was gone, my vision instantly obscured when Vivi yanked me from the railing and back down the hall. She was giving me a strange look, though I ignored it, preferring to replay the image that my mind had greedily began to covet.

He was the most beautiful man I had ever seen.

xXx

_Coming Soon: Chapter 3: Have You Wished on a Wishing Well?_

xXx

**AN: It's only been a year right? Sorry about that! Sometimes the block just hits you and it takes forever to work your way around it. As always I apologize for my lazy editing and for any mistakes I may have missed.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Love dearies,**

**ZiraUzu**

xXx

1\. yes I understand. everything will be ready so please, Genzo, untwist your panties and leave everything to me- oh my dear sister has arrived! Oh hush, goodbye, Genzo!

2\. That damn idiot, I can't believe this! Fine. Fine. I'll send for him. Ten minutes. Good day.

3\. Ace, darling?

4\. I've had it up to here, Nojiko, I've had it! Why can't he just . . . dammit.

5\. I know, dearest, I know. Just give him time, let him breathe. He'll come around, you'll see. Now come. Nami has just arrived and you've already made a scene.

6\. Little sister


End file.
